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The 2010 season will be a coming of age party for the Ulen-Hitterdal football team. After a couple of seasons of playing young and inexperienced players, the Spartans are now the exact opposite. The majority of the nine-man football team is back and plenty of them will be three-year starters at that. "We feel we are a deep team with good players returning," said U-H head coach Dustin Flaten.

The start to the Detroit Lakes volleyball team's season opener was positive from the get-go. It was just that the middle and ending that wasn't all that pleasing. The Lakers lost their season and home opener to visiting Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Tuesday 3-1, after jumping on the Rebels in game one with a 25-22 win. But DGF used a game-turning second match to turn the tide, winning 25-18, and proceeded to control the court in the form of two more victories of 25-14 and 25-19.

The Detroit Lakes boys' and girls' cross country teams each got a last taste of summer in Moorhead for a hot and muggy season opener Monday. For the Laker boys, it was a solid beginning to the season, while for the girls, there were some mild surprises. "I didn't feel my expectations were met," said DL head girls' coach Jon Freeman. "There is a difference between potential and actual. It just looked like we were running young and scared." The boys' team finished sixth out of 11 teams, with junior Wes Bakken leading the way in 20th with a time of 18:21.1.

Not everything is in black and white, especially in the game of tennis. Although the Detroit Lakes girls' tennis team suffered a pair 6-1 losses to visiting Staples-Motley and Moorhead, the scores were not as bad as they appeared. The Lakers brought the Mid-State Conference favorite Staples-Motley to several tiebreakers and third-set matches, with No. 4 singles player Shantel Kluenenberg picking up DL's lone win. DL lost two tiebreakers, with No. 1 singles Joelle Langworthy losing to Andrea Koskiniemi on a 7-4 second-set tiebreaker.

With the start of the 2010 school season on the horizon, there will be an easing-in period for students as they prepare for their studies in the classroom. But for the Detroit Lakes football team, there will be no easing into anything, as they will be forced into taking a rugged test out of the gates. The North Dakota Class 2A reigning champions, Shanley will be coming to town Friday -- packing a loaded, potent lineup. The Deacons didn't have much turnover from their talented 2009 lineup, with quarterback Myles Montplaisir back, as well as a big offensive line in front of him.

The 2009 trail for the Waubun football team ended on the artificial turf of the University of North Dakota's Alerus Center. It's a destination the Bombers would like to revisit. But if the Bombers should make it back to the section championship game, they will be doing it a bit different than they have the last three years. There will be a bit more diversity and versatility, which is created by some team speed, along with the usual physical game Waubun is used to playing. "One thing is for certain, we will be playing physical football," said Waubun head coach Jason McCloskey.

The Detroit Lakes girls' soccer team let one slip away, but still came out with a tie against a traditionally tough opponent in Alexandria. The Cardinals scored the tying goal with five minutes remaining Saturday at the DL Rotary Soccer Complex, as overtime went scoreless and the game ended in a 2-2 knot. The Lakers controlled much of the play, surviving two 10-minute onslaughts by Alexandria to start each half, with DL goalie Courtney Gray finished with six saves. "It was nice how we controlled the game, we just need to learn how to hold the lead," said DL head coach Dave Carter.

The 2010 season for the Pelican Rapids football team will be based on its offensive line, where all three of its senior captains reside. Each of Dan Wood, Cody Wahlstrom and Brady Morgan will anchor the Vikings' strongest unit, which means good news for second-year junior quarterback Casey Bruggeman. "It's a unique situation for us, because I've never had all my captains just on the offensive line," said Pelican Rapids head coach Dave Haugen.

The season started on the right note for the Detroit Lakes girls' tennis team after defeating Perham 6-1 Thursday. The Lakers, fresh off of playing in the Staples-Motley tournament Wednesday, where they saw several new teams, played well against the Yellowjackets. All DL singles players won, while DL took two of three in doubles action as well. "This was the first time we were able to see Laurenn Johnson and Shantel Kluenenberg play in singles this season and they both won quite handily," said DL head coach Kris Omberg.

Lessons were learned -- and quickly -- by the Detroit Lakes girls' soccer team, after they allowed four quick goals in the first half against visiting Sartell Thursday in the 2010 season and home opener. After trailing 4-1 by halftime, the young Laker team quickly adjusted in the second half, keeping the potent Sabre attack scoreless. That obviously wasn't enough in the 4-1 loss, but DL head coach Dave Carter was satisfied with how his new team was able to overcome the four-goal first half adversity.